It's not New Year's (obviously). I don't believe in resolutions. But how to make a positive action become a habit is of interest to me. One article I read states that a habit can take anywhere from an average of 66 - 254 days to form.
So many places to improve...I'm going to list many of them here, in no particular order, more for my sake, than for your's, dear reader. Perhaps this blog will help provide a type of accountability for me.
I would like to: go to bed at a reasonable time (11 p.m.) on work nights; knit more; exercise every day (I've got absolutely no excuse now that my commute is more reasonable); eat more healthy; cook on the weekends for the following week; lose weight; learn to like tea (because even though it's good for me, it only tastes like hot water with a little flavoring. Blech.); drink more water; keep in better touch with family and friends; blog more frequently (when it's not NaBloPoMo); save more money; spend less and more wisely; use more of my yarn stash; read more books (especially the ones I already own but haven't read); drink less Diet Coke (notice I'm not giving it up entirely); switch to greener ways to clean my house without using chemical cleaners; keep the house picked up throughout the week so it's not a big deal to clean on the weekends; pack a lunch to take to work; have a date night with DH every couple of weeks; listen to more podcast episodes (because I've only got 1000 in my iTunes that I haven't listened to yet).
I started trying to break some of my bad habits a couple of weeks ago. So far, I've been getting to bed before midnight somewhat regularly. I really have to force myself to stop what I'm doing. I've found it helps to actually get into bed around 10 - 10:30 p.m. and then read for a half hour or so. But if the book is really good, I really have to be stern with myself to put it down and shut off the light. I've been drinking more water at work. Now I need to start replacing caffeine-free Diet Coke in the evenings with water and tea. (I tried a blueberry tea tonight. I let the bag steep for a long time - but it still tastes mainly like hot water. This will obviously have to be an acquired taste.) Watching the TV shows about hoarders most definitely helps me keep the house picked up during the week (because I don't fast forward through the commercials but use that time to do small housekeeping tasks).
I'm not sure yet whether I'll try to post quarterly, semi-annually, or annually about my progress on forming healthy habits.
Have you formed any good habits lately? How did you do it and how long did it take you? Please share any tips you may have - I'm going to need all the help I can get.
OK, off to drink some water (as I grudgingly think how much I want a Diet Coke right now).
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Toasted Buns
The old Stashmobile has been retired. It was a 2000 Toyota Camry. It was time - it had over 251,000 miles on it, 190,000 of which had been put on it since we got it in 2006. It served me well and I really liked driving that car. Now that I think of it, Franklin and Stephanie had been passengers in that car. (Hmmm, could this help the re-sale value?)
I wasn't really looking for a "new" vehicle. DH and I had been debating whether my car could/would make it through the winter vs whether we wanted a monthly car payment (even though the rate for an auto loan through our credit union was very low). Then, DH was looking at Craigslist and found a Camry Hybrid, 2008, 49,000 miles, and with every bell and whistle you can imagine. (All the bells and whistles he would never agree to adding on if we were buying a new car.) He found it on the 15th. The owner was moving 1,500 miles away on the 20th. We met the owner in Clinton, IA on the 18th, drove the car, had it inspected at the local Toyota dealer, and closed the deal. It's enough to make my head spin.
There are a couple of advantages to this car for knitters. First, the light from the dashboard is bright enough that it will backlight one's knitting when traveling after dark. I'll let you know once I've had a chance to test that theory.
See? The dashboard's so bright, I have to wear shades.
The other bell and whistle that I love, love, love is the seat warmer. Holy heat, Batman! How the heck did I survive upper midwest winters all these years without this feature?! (Especially when I hate wearing a coat in the car for any trip longer than 10 minutes.) For the knitter, if your fingers are cold, sit on them for a bit while the seat warmer is on - nice warm fingers for knitting. While I'm sure it's gotten old for DH, I haven't tired of calling him from the car when I'm leaving work, telling him that I may be freezing, but my buns are toasty!
I wasn't really looking for a "new" vehicle. DH and I had been debating whether my car could/would make it through the winter vs whether we wanted a monthly car payment (even though the rate for an auto loan through our credit union was very low). Then, DH was looking at Craigslist and found a Camry Hybrid, 2008, 49,000 miles, and with every bell and whistle you can imagine. (All the bells and whistles he would never agree to adding on if we were buying a new car.) He found it on the 15th. The owner was moving 1,500 miles away on the 20th. We met the owner in Clinton, IA on the 18th, drove the car, had it inspected at the local Toyota dealer, and closed the deal. It's enough to make my head spin.
There are a couple of advantages to this car for knitters. First, the light from the dashboard is bright enough that it will backlight one's knitting when traveling after dark. I'll let you know once I've had a chance to test that theory.
See? The dashboard's so bright, I have to wear shades.
The other bell and whistle that I love, love, love is the seat warmer. Holy heat, Batman! How the heck did I survive upper midwest winters all these years without this feature?! (Especially when I hate wearing a coat in the car for any trip longer than 10 minutes.) For the knitter, if your fingers are cold, sit on them for a bit while the seat warmer is on - nice warm fingers for knitting. While I'm sure it's gotten old for DH, I haven't tired of calling him from the car when I'm leaving work, telling him that I may be freezing, but my buns are toasty!
Monday, November 28, 2011
It's November -Time to Display The Valentine's Day Merchandise
I've been thinking about consumerism lately and not just because of the Occupy movements. I've been inspired by the efforts of Laurie over at Crazy Aunt Purl to de-clutter, spend less (and wiser), and by Benita's DIY over at Chez Larsson.
Jean's blog (and the comments) since last Friday started me thinking about the upcoming holidays. Now, I love Christmas - it's my favorite holiday and nothing can beat a Christmas tree with hundreds of lights on it. I'm not into knick knacks - except for Christmas. Then I don't have enough surface space in my house.
Maybe it's part-and-parcel of getting older, but the commercialism is wearing on me - and not just for Christmas. I cannot believe how early merchandise is displayed. This year, the back-to-school items were still on the shelves when the Halloween items came out. Christmas items have been on display since the beginning of November. What happened to the days when this did not happen until after Thanksgiving?
What happened to common civility and decency? Pepper spray to get ahead in Black Friday lines? Seriously, people?
The difficult part, for me, is how to insulate myself from the commercialism while immersing myself in the customs or traditions of our respective families. Here are some tactics I use to insulate myself: skip TV commercials; ignore newspaper ads and flyers; turn down the radio during commercials when listening to Christmas music; avoid malls and any big box stores not just on Black Friday, but during the entire season.
What I'd like to know is if the holiday season is this commercialized and insane in other first world countries or is this insanity limited within the borders of the U.S. (Somehow I just can't see Canadians pepper spraying others to be first in line to buy electronics. Another reason Canada seems like such a nice place to live.) I know I have some readers who live outside the U.S. Please leave a comment on what the holiday season is like where you live.
Our Christmas gift giving has been scaled back in recent years, but this year, I'm going to make even more of an effort to shop locally. One of the ways we're going to scale back is to spent less on gifts and send what we would have spent to some charities. (My favorites are local food pantries, the local humane society, the Heifer International, and Doctors Without Borders.) While we can't afford to give large amounts of money, I think each dollar helps. I can't begin to imagine how the world economic situation is affecting charities.
One would think that the natural option for me would be to give hand knits, but I hate knitting on a deadline and it's too late this year for a slow knitter like me.
Maybe for next year.
If I start in January.
Jean's blog (and the comments) since last Friday started me thinking about the upcoming holidays. Now, I love Christmas - it's my favorite holiday and nothing can beat a Christmas tree with hundreds of lights on it. I'm not into knick knacks - except for Christmas. Then I don't have enough surface space in my house.
Maybe it's part-and-parcel of getting older, but the commercialism is wearing on me - and not just for Christmas. I cannot believe how early merchandise is displayed. This year, the back-to-school items were still on the shelves when the Halloween items came out. Christmas items have been on display since the beginning of November. What happened to the days when this did not happen until after Thanksgiving?
What happened to common civility and decency? Pepper spray to get ahead in Black Friday lines? Seriously, people?
The difficult part, for me, is how to insulate myself from the commercialism while immersing myself in the customs or traditions of our respective families. Here are some tactics I use to insulate myself: skip TV commercials; ignore newspaper ads and flyers; turn down the radio during commercials when listening to Christmas music; avoid malls and any big box stores not just on Black Friday, but during the entire season.
What I'd like to know is if the holiday season is this commercialized and insane in other first world countries or is this insanity limited within the borders of the U.S. (Somehow I just can't see Canadians pepper spraying others to be first in line to buy electronics. Another reason Canada seems like such a nice place to live.) I know I have some readers who live outside the U.S. Please leave a comment on what the holiday season is like where you live.
Our Christmas gift giving has been scaled back in recent years, but this year, I'm going to make even more of an effort to shop locally. One of the ways we're going to scale back is to spent less on gifts and send what we would have spent to some charities. (My favorites are local food pantries, the local humane society, the Heifer International, and Doctors Without Borders.) While we can't afford to give large amounts of money, I think each dollar helps. I can't begin to imagine how the world economic situation is affecting charities.
One would think that the natural option for me would be to give hand knits, but I hate knitting on a deadline and it's too late this year for a slow knitter like me.
Maybe for next year.
If I start in January.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Shhhh, It's A Surprise
I'd like to show you what I've been furiously knitting on since I finished the baby blanket, but the item is a gift - made from the recipient's own yarn and I'm not sure whether she reads this blog.
Here's a tease -
Every month I get together with a group of knitters and we decided to do a "brown bag swap" for December. In October, each person came to our gathering with a brown paper bag which included yarn and a slip of paper with their name on it. We then each picked a bag (other than our own, of course), and set off knitting. I picked Hmmmm-Hmmmmmmm's name and this project, while deceptively simple, has given me all the problems a deceptively simple pattern can. I've frogged it three times. I've finally gotten to the point where I've improved on keeping my row count (crucial on this pattern). But I've now reached the point where the item is growing, but the ball of yarn doesn't seem to shrink.
AND I've got more yarn that I wanted to make another item from but I'm not about to start until I've finished the first item.
The deadline is December 9th.
Think I'll make it?
Here's a tease -
Every month I get together with a group of knitters and we decided to do a "brown bag swap" for December. In October, each person came to our gathering with a brown paper bag which included yarn and a slip of paper with their name on it. We then each picked a bag (other than our own, of course), and set off knitting. I picked Hmmmm-Hmmmmmmm's name and this project, while deceptively simple, has given me all the problems a deceptively simple pattern can. I've frogged it three times. I've finally gotten to the point where I've improved on keeping my row count (crucial on this pattern). But I've now reached the point where the item is growing, but the ball of yarn doesn't seem to shrink.
AND I've got more yarn that I wanted to make another item from but I'm not about to start until I've finished the first item.
The deadline is December 9th.
Think I'll make it?
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Day at the Museum
A few weeks ago, a group of us went to the Milwaukee Public Museum for Cleopatra exhibit. It was a very well-done exhibit. I can't show you any highlights as photos were not allowed. However, you can find more in-depth information at National Geographic. I did learn quite a bit of new information about her and that time period.
One of the permanent exhibits is the Streets of Old Milwaukee which I remember fondly from my childhood and have to visit each time I go the the museum.
Knitting has made me more observant of the crafts displayed in the homes.
The Belgium home.
The Latvian home.
No visit is complete without a walk through the Butterfly Wing.
One of the permanent exhibits is the Streets of Old Milwaukee which I remember fondly from my childhood and have to visit each time I go the the museum.
Knitting has made me more observant of the crafts displayed in the homes.
The Belgium home.
The Latvian home.
No visit is complete without a walk through the Butterfly Wing.
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